FEEDS FOR HORSES 317 



512. Wet beet pulp. Wet beet pulp is unsuited for work horses, ac- 

 cording to Pott, 61 altho it may be fed to idle horses at the rate of 22 to 44 

 Ibs. per head daily. Larger quantities are said to be injurious. Clark 82 of 

 the Utah Station reports that colts were allowed constant access to pulp 

 at a sugar beet factory for several years without trouble arising. 



VI. COST OP KEEP 



513. Cost of keeping farm horses. The cost of horse labor is a matter 

 of great interest and importance to all farmers, especially at the present 

 time when tractors are competing with horses as sources of draft 

 power. Cooper of the United States Department of Agriculture 63 

 secured data on the cost of keeping horses from 1909 to 1914 on 27 farms 

 in Illinois, Ohio, and New York. The detailed cost of keeping these horses 

 under pre-war conditions is shown in the following table: 



Average yearly cost of keeping farm horses under pre-war conditions 



Gross costs Illinois Ohio New York 



Feed and bedding $68 .75 $76 .86 $91 .25 



Labor 13.99 27.48 22.09 



Interest 7.90 8.66 9.43 



Stabling 4.95 7.18 12.98 



Use of equipment 3 .82 5 .00 5 .85 



Shoeing .86 2.35 4.56 



Misc. (including depreciation) 5 .62 1 .04 12 .22 



Total $105.89 $128.57 $158.38 



Credit for manure 5 .24 8 .20 13 .36 



Net cost $100.65 $120.37 $145.02 



The horses on the Illinois farms worked on the average 1,053 hours a 

 year and were fed on the average 4,500 Ibs. of concentrates (practically 

 all corn and oats) and 1,540 Ibs. of hay. In addition 2,684 Ibs. of other 

 roughage (straw and fodder) was fed or used for bedding. The horses 

 on the average were pastured 148 days. The Ohio horses worked only 

 866 hours and were given 3,347 Ibs. concentrates (chiefly oats and corn), 

 4,180 Ibs. hay, and 1,480 Ibs. other roughage (for feed and bedding). 

 They were pastured on the average 68 days. The New York horses 

 worked 1,020 hours, but were fed considerably less concentrates, due to 

 the higher price of concentrates in the northeastern states. They re- 

 ceived much more hay, 6,560 Ibs., and 2,953 Ibs. other roughage (for 

 feed and bedding) and were pastured only 34 days. 



The cost of feed and bedding was about two-thirds of the net cost of 

 keeping these horses. The other largest item of expense was for man 

 and horse labor in feeding and caring for the horses. Many of the 

 minor items are often overlooked by farmers in estimating the cost of 

 horse labor. The depreciation varied widely on these farms, being 



61 Handb. Erahr. u. Futter., Ill 1909, p. 299. "IT. S. D. A. Bui. 560. 



Bui. 101. 



